Masked
by Krissha
Summary: After unveiling the identity of the girl who Percy spent the entire night with at the masquerade ball, he wasn't sure if all people were who they appeared to be.


**A/N: **Something different. Enjoy!

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><p>He didn't know what made him do it. Percy was not the kind of guy who would even think about going to homecoming. Yet there he was, absentmindedly lounging on a once-vacant seat next to the snack table. Alone. No friends. No date. Grover agreed to tag along, but Percy lost him in the crowd of silhouettes before he could even blink.<p>

Streamers of every color hung on walls and balloons were scattered all over the gym. Miniature flecks of light danced off of the smoothly-spinning disco ball, illuminating small parts of the room. The speakers were booming with loud music that sophomores and juniors alike swayed to as if they were hypnotized.

He knew that the dance committee never let anyone out of the dances until it was over so he didn't have a choice but to find his best friend. Which, by the way, was Grover and always will be Grover. Not Annabanana Chase. Or whatever her name was—but it didn't matter because he doubted that she remembered his.

About a month ago she moved onto Percy's block, to the house directly across. Sure, they carpooled to school and back several times. But they both knew that they couldn't stand in the same room without tearing at each other's throats.

_What kind of idiot plans a masquerade ball, _Percy glowered, trying to take his mind off of that blonde witch, _where you can hardly tell who anyone is._

He readjusted his mask, a plastic black one with a flimsy string that fit snugly against his face. Percy decided it was time to get his best bro back for ditching him. He slowly wandered onto the dance floor, squinting and trying to figure out who was who. But the corners of his eyes caught a girl, making her way towards him.

At least that's what he thought. The girl looked distracted; she was gazing across the gym dreamily as she paced. Percy realized that he hadn't thought to move and she ran into him, almost tripping on the hem of her dress.

"Oh, damn," He breathed and caught her shoulders, "Sorry, I was just-"

And for the first time, he bothered to take in her appearance. She had long and glossy straight hair that went down her back—either dirty blonde or brown, he couldn't tell in the dark—and a nice figure. Her face was hidden under her feathery snow-white mask, but what the hell? She was kinda pretty.

"It's okay."

"Huh?" Percy blinked, snapping himself out of his thoughts.

"It's fine," The girl looked down at her dress and straightened it, "really. It was my fault."

"Uh, yeah. No problem," He responded lamely, rubbing a hand at the nape of his neck.

"Well, someone's waiting for me. It was nice meeting you."

Percy was about to mutter a good-bye and let her pass, but he decided to stop himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had actual fun.

"W-wait!"

"Yes?" The girl spun around, her hair following her smoothly like a spray of caramel.

"Do you wanna, um, dance? Unless you were supposed to meet up with your date or someth-"

"No," She quickly assured him, "I don't have one. But I'd like to. Dance with you, I mean."

"Great." Percy felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, but he let it pass and held his hand out. As soon as she took it, they gently swayed to the music. It was pretty awkward, but soon they were sharing laughs and got a bit more comfortable with each other.

"I'm not into this hardcore stuff," The girl admitted after a while, averting her eyes from the sultry grinding around her.

"Yeah. I get what you mean," Percy replied even though he only half-agreed. He didn't consider himself a pervert, but he found erotic dancing rather—what's the word—_intriguing_. Fortunately he was saved by the change of song. A slow song.

"This is so tacky," The girl commented, fidgeting her feet.

"Too tacky for another dance?"

She stuck her tongue out and threw arms over Percy's shoulders. He gave her a crooked grin and snaked his arms around her waist.

"So," Percy began, "Am I keeping you away from meeting this friend of yours?"

"Nah. What made you think that?"

"Nothing," He answered quickly, trying to keep his feet coordinated with the dance, "But you don't have to stay with me if you don't want."

"Well, obviously. I just wanted to spend more with you, I guess."

"You mean with a guy you don't even know the name of?" Percy countered.

"Maybe... or not. Let's find out," She suggested, raising a curious hand and gently holding the edge of Percy's mask.

Percy shifted uneasily. He wasn't sure if this was what he wanted. He kind of liked this girl and didn't really have many friends. Sure, he knew pretty much everyone in the grade. But he didn't have that many real friends. The ones that were with you all the time, no matter what.

"Uh... I'm sorry, what?" Percy murmured, totally spacing out.

She sighed. "I wanna know who you are. On the count of three?"

At that moment, he didn't know why he was so nervous. He figured it was because she could've thought of him differently afterward. But no one could possibly be that shallow. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but it was something else too. He wasn't sure.

"One," The girl counted, interrupting his thoughts.

"Two," Percy continued uneasily, not bothering to stop her. He was ready.

"_Three."_

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><p><strong>AN:** Not exactly a cliffhanger, it shouldn't be too hard to guess who the girl is. Oh, and I also realized after reading this over that Percy referred to her as The Girl numerous times, haha. This is definitely AU and I would say that it's OOC as well for obvious reasons. I don't know why I decided to write this, but _something_ inspired me to. I'm just not sure what it is yet... absurd, right? Anyway, I think I'll need to continue for several more chapters before I know when I'm going to end this. This author's note is longer than I expected, but I think I got everything out. Well, almost. One more thing. I rushed this because it was getting late, but I wanted to finish writing at the same time. Sorry if anything is out of place.

Reviews are my motivation and they are extremely appreciated. ;)


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